Golden General Chapter eight b
8-B
Austin
Jade
To anyone who may be reading this, this is the second half
of chapter 8. This chapter was getting so long that we decided to
cut it in half and this chapter is still really long, but it does
have a lot in it. Just to warn you readers, this has a some more
romance in it, but very little action so if you were expecting
action in this chapter then you were mistaken. Chapter 9 will have
some though.
Anyway, on with the story! Write either Austin or myself if you
enjoyed this chapter!
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Red eyes.... black eyes... evil eyes.... dark eyes. Cynical
eyes chasing her. Eyes in the dark. Something evil. Something
terrible. Something coming after her. It wanted her... but she
wouldn't go with it, wouldn't give up. She was fighting, oh, but
she was so tired.... She couldn't fight anymore, she couldn't
beat it. She ran, on through the darkness, the eyes forever after
her.
A dead end. No where left to go. No where left to run. Nothing
left to do, but give in to it... to evil... or die....
The eyes were red again, like blood, the face as dark as night,
the smile twisted evily and a laugh echoing through her mind. It
reached for her, to take her, to grab her, to keep her.......
And then it had her.
It was smothering her, taking away everything she was,
everything she knew, putting evil inside her where the good had
been, replacing all her light with darkness. It wanted her, and
it had her, it wanted more, and it would get more, whatever it
wanted she had to obey, and it wanted.. to... kill... her......
now...
"NOOOO!!!"
Crystal bolted upright in her bed, her body soaked with
presperation, her heart racing a thousand miles an hour, her face
set in a look of horror as she drew in deep breaths of air as
though she'd been running a marathon. She felt as though she were
suffocating.
Even as common sense and control returned to her, after a time,
the look of horror that had been there when she awoke was still
imprinted on her face and her heart was stillracing mightly.
The nightmare simply would not leave her mind.
Eyes.... darkness... evil... laughing.... smothering.....
dying... That was all she could remember clearly now, and that was
all she needed to know.
She slowly stood up on wobbling legs and carefully set the
blankets covering her aside. She was still wearing her generals
uniform. After the fiasco with Zoisite and Kunzite earlier she
just hadn't had the strength to change into more suitable night
clothes.
Standing on her bare feet weakly Crystal walked over to where
she had left her extra clothing and slowly put on a pair of
socks and then her black boots. She had to get her mind off this
nightmare, before she went totally nuts, and the best way to do
that was to occupy her mind withsomething else.
Crystal set out for the training room.
As she did she wondered about this nightmare she'd been having
- she really couldn't stop thinking about it - and she also
wondered why she'd been having the exact same one over, and over,
and over again. In fact, she'd had this exact same nightmare six
times already throughout the whole night, and each time she woke
up, it was always at the same spot in the nightmare... just
before whateverwanted her, killed her.
When she finally reached the training room, where just earlier
this night, Kunzite and Zoisite had probably had the biggest
arguement of their lives, Crystal was relieved to see that it
completely empty. Holding up her hand the crystal sword appeared
in her hands and she brought it down in an arc that sliced
through the air smoothly andeasily.
And so, Crystal set to work with her training, putting all her
energy, what little she had, into the action, and totally
throwing the nightmare from her mind.
And because she was so caught up in what she was doing she
totally lost track of the time and even forgot where she was. She
just practiced and put everything she had to offer into it.
That's also why she failed to notice the person standing in the
doorway, watching her.
She must have practiced for hours, days, weeks, maybe longer,
or at least, that's what it felt like to her when she was
finished. She was breathing just as hard as she had been when
she'd woken up this morning, her heart was beating just as fast
as it had been when she jolted up in her bed from that
nightmare, and her....
She started out of her thoughts, surprised, as she heard the
distinct sound of clapping coming from the training room
entrance, and on pure instinct she turned around and threw a red
globe of energy at the intruder.
But that attack was stopped easily by an quickly erected
forcefield. It took Crystal a few minutes of staring to realize
who she'd just attacked. She blinked, surprised.
"Kunzite?"
Kunzite nodded and moved away from the shadows of the stone
doorway. Every door in the Nega-verse was like that. Simular to
a cave entrance, it was all made out of marble or stone.
"Well done." Kunzite complimented her, walking forward and
nodding to her weapon. "That sword of yours is very strong,
very powerful. Did you create it?" Crystal hesitated for a
moment, the urge to lie bubbling up in her like an ocean. The
truth could always be dangerous, no matter who knew it, and
what was to be gained by telling it? Nothing but the
possibilty of danger, that's what. But she reminded herself
that this was Kunzite she was talking to, not Zoisite or
Queen Beryl. For some reason, Crystal trusted Kunzite, more
than she'd ever trusted anyone in her life. And that scared
her.
"Yes."
Kunzite nodded.
There was an uncomfortable silence accompanying his nod
and both of them fidgited self-consciously for a moment,
neither knowing quite what to say.... And then they both
started talking at once, their words jumbling together as
though only one person was talking and not two.
"Listen Kunzite-"
"About yesterday-"
"I didn't mean-"
"I'm sorry if I-"
They both stopped, realizing neither one of them had
really heard the other, and then laughed, easing the
tension that was like a stone wall between them greatly
with the sound.
Crystal motioned for him to go first and he
swallowed, continuing in a halting voice. "Look, Crystal,
about yesterday, I didn't mean to.... It was an
accident... I.... I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in
anyway." He finished lamely and frowned at how stupid he
sounded.
Crystal noticed his slightly nervous, flustered look
and laughed aloud again, surprising Kunzite.
It was just too funny. It was so rare that Kunzite
was ever embarrassed or at a loss for words, and now
here he was, apologizing to her as though he didn't
know how to speak properly.
"Forget about it Kunzite. It wasn't your fault. It's
more likely it was mine. Really, you have nothing to
apologize about." Kunzite still seemed unsure so Crystal
threw her arms around him and gave him an enormous hug,
although it didn't have the reasuring affect Crystal had
been hoping for. It would seem that at least some of her
havits from Earth hadn't faded away just yet.
When she finally did let go of him he looked even more
flustered than before and Crystal laughed again, the sound
seeming to jerk Kunzite out of his fumbling. He nodded simply,
a faint but genuine smile forming on his lips, and he motioned
for her to continue with what she was doing, and even though
she was finished with her training Crystal continued, because
she wanted him to watch her, and this was the only way she
knew how to get him to do it right now. For the time being the
earlier incident with Zoisite had been forgotten.
______________________
When Kunzite and Crystal finally finished the unschedualed
training session both of them were drained and exhausted. Like
before, they'd tried lots of physical weapons and tested
Crystal's magical skills again. Kunzite had refused to spar
with magic when Crystal suggested it and though Crystal had
been disappointed and slightly annoyed the training had
progressed until it came down to the swords again. Once
they'd finished with those both of them had sat down in the
middle of the room and rested for a little bit.
Crystal was especially tired. Because the nightmare had
been keeping her up most of the night she'd barely gotten
more than a quarter of a nights rest and that was scarcely
enough to sustain her. Sleepy and worn Crystal lied down on
her back and closed her eyes, although she didn't go to
sleep just yet.
"Well, that was.... progressive." Kunzite commented,
wiping his brow with his hand. She wasn't all that far behind
him in fighting skills anymore and though she had to work to
stay at his level she was a good student. She'd given him a
workout to say the least.
"Yeah, it was." Crystal murmered and Kunzite glanced over,
seeing her closed eyes and blank face. She was about to fall
asleep any second. He guessed she musn't have gotten all that
much sleep tonight.
"Hey, you o.k?" He asked, leaning over towards her,
momentarily caught by her lovely face again.
Her cheeks were bright and had a rosy hue to them from the
exercises and what-not they'd been going through and that
hue gave her a glow as though someone had set a candle behind
her face. Her wide, heart shaped mouth was painted light pink,
a nice color for her, but a stark contrast to her dull clothes.
Her golden bangs hung down, over her forehead and in front of
her eyes. She looked like some sort of precious porcelain doll.
He looked away quickly, avoiding her look when her eyes
flashed open and she spared him a glance with those lovely blue
eyes before closing them again. "Yeah, I'm fine." She said,
spoiling the words by muttering them and making them almost
impossible to make out. "Pardon?" Kunzite asked. Crystal just
sighed and rolled onto her side, tucking one arm under her
head.
"Crystal?" Kunzite asked, but his voice seemed far away to her
and she ignored it as he asked again, "Crystal?"
She let out a deep breath slowly and relaxed, loosening her
tight muscles as Kunzite called her name a third time. "Crystal?
Hey, Crystal! Wake up!" He snapped his fingers in front of her
closed eyes and she swatted his hand away and muttered, "I'm
awake, I'm awake. I wasn't sleeping. I was just... checking my
eyelids for holes."
She felt Kunzite pull back slightly in surprise at this
absurd sentence and she yawned, breathing deeply and falling
further and further into her dreams.... and her nightmares.
"Crystal?" Kunzite asked the sleeping girl again, but it was
obvious by her deep breathing and low energy levels that she
wasn't going to wake up easily, not anytime soon anyway, and
after calling her name a second and a third time more Kunzite
gave it up, shook his head, and picked her up in his arms,
carrying her to her room.
Her warmth and energy enveloped all his senses the minute
Kunzite pulled her into his embrace and Kunzite reveled in the
strong golden energy she seemed to radiate, even in sleep. He
slowly walked through the many halls in the Nega-verse, gently
carrying Crystal with him, enjoying holding such light and pure
energy in his arms.
It was not a long walk to either Crystal's room or his
own, but in the few minutes it took Kunzite to take Crystal
to her room, the nightmare that had been plaguing her since
the moment she had gone to sleep earlier started up again and
she began to struggle and squirm in Kunzite's arms. He was
surprised at this at first and wondered for a moment if she
were awake again. But no, she was still asleep, and her
squirming and wriggling were increasing by degrees with each
step he took.
By the time Kunzite reached Crystal's room she was very
nearly kicking and clawing in his arms and he hurried to put
her down in her own bed. Pushing aside the dark curtain and
heavy blankets Kunzite set her down on the soft mattress and
watched her for a moment as she continued to struggle in her
bed. Then, amazingly, she began to cry.
Kunzite blinked in shock and stared, transfized as she
began to murmer words in her sleep, the tears still trickling
down her face. He had never, *never* seen Crystal cry before
and the sight was mesmerizing. True, he had seen Sailor Moon
cry before, but Sailor Moon had changed since becoming
Crystal. Changed so much that Kunzite even dared to say she
was not the same person anymore, and seeing her cry like
this - strong, tempermental, untouchable Crystal, crying! -
was hipnotizing to say the least, even if it was in sleep.
Shaking himself out of his stuper Kunzite knelt by
Crystal's side and hesitantly touched a hand to her sweaty
brow. She shook and wept at his touch, as though the feel of
his hand brought pain and he moved it from her skin to her
hair, gently taking a few of the golden strands and caressing
them lightly. She seemed to calm somewhat at this action and
Kunzite leaned forward a bit and brushed back her bangs from
her closed eyes. This time she did not shake as his
fingertips brushed her skin. If anything she calmed even more
and Kunzite tilted his head to one side, staring at her
twitching face and flickering eyelids with some undescribable
emotion in his silver eyes. Then in a move that totally
floored him and would have shocked the hell out of Crystal
had she been awake, Kunzite leaned forward and planted a
sound kiss on her delicate cheek.
Then he got to his feet and left Crystal in peace, her
nightmares forgotten for the time being and a small smile on
her soft lips.
____________________
The next morning Crystal awoke slowly to see Kunzite
standing beside her bed, an amused smile on his face as she
realized that she was all tangled up in her blankets again.
She grinned sleepily at him and attempted to remove herself
from the bed with a minimum of movement. She almost
succedded too. If only she hadn't smacked her arm on the
headrest then she wouldn't have jumped forward.... and
fallen right off the edge of the bed. This time Kunzite
caught her and she managed to avoid crushing her nose on the
hard floor. "Thanks." She said, shaking the cobwebs out of
head and straightening up. Kunzite nodded and released her,
that same smile still on his face.
"I was coming to wake you up." He explained. "But I just
got here and I saw that you were already awake so I didn't
bother." Crystal was about to say that she'd only just woken
up but shrugged instead, knowing it wasn't worth wasting time
over and pushed her bangs from her blue eyes.
"Did you want to train more?" Crystal asked, stretching
her arms over her head. She pulled one hand through the
golden mass of tangles and reached for a hair brush as
Kunzite shook his head. "No, I think we've done enough
training for now. You are allowed to do anything you wish for
the next two days. I will update the queen on your progress
soon." Crystal paused in the middle of brushing a small
section of her hair and blinked as Kunzite's words formed an
idea in her mind. "Anything?" She asked, looking at Kunzite
strangely. Kunzite hesitated and was tempted to take back his
words for there was something in her eyes that Kunzite might
almost call.... wistfulness? Regret? He didn't like it at all
and the look sent alarms ringing in his head, but he ignored
them.
"Yes." He said at last and Crystal stood still for a
moment, an internal battle warring in her light blue eyes.
Eventually her feelings seemed to win out because Crystal
finished pulling the brush through her hair and stood up
straight as she pronounced clearly, "Thank you for telling me
this Kunzite. For the next two days I shall be on Earth,
watching over the scouts in their everyday forms and checking
up on them at scout meetings to see what they have planned."
Of course, that wasn't the real reason she wanted to go to
Earth but it was as good an excuse as any.
"Earth?!" Kunzite cried, surprised. Crystal nodded and
stepped in front of the full length mirror on the wall,
ignoring Kunzite for a moment and pulling her hair up in a
ponytail, almost tying it that way before deciding to leave it
down and allowing it to flow along her back and shoulders like
molten gold.
"But.... you don't need to go to Earth! The scouts could
never defeat us and there's no need to watch them and see what
they're planning. I think it would be best if you stayed here
for now." Kunzite was desperatly trying to think of ways to
keep Crystal from going to Earth, but really it was her
decision and there wasn't a lot he could say that would change
her mind. She was stubborn, that much he knew, both from her
time as a general and a scout.
"Listen Kunzite.... you said that I could do anything for
the next two days and I said I want to go to earth." Crystal
turned away from the mirror on the wall to look at him straight
in the face, determination i.
"But, Crystal! It might be dangerous for you and Queen Beryl
won't like it at all." Kunzite wracked his brain desparetly for
a better reason for why she shouldn't go but came up empty.
"What's not to like? I'm going to spy on the scouts. Besides
you have their names right? I'm not arguing on this anymore!"
With that Crystal waved her hands and disappeared, leaving
Kunzite standing there, fuming and his helplessnees to stop her
from leaving.
"Of course she would want to go see Earth, it was orignally her
home. She's probably gonna create some big scene if she's
discovered. Well, I have news for you Crystal! I am not going to
sit hear and be blamed for what you do!" With that Kunzite left
the room in a huff and a swirl of magical dark dust.
______________________
Crystal looked around her excitedly nearly jumping up and
down in her glee. It felt like ages since she'd had a real ice-
cream cone and here was the perfect oppertunity to get one. She
loved those treats even now when she was no longer a sailor
scout but a general instead.
She was at the park and there was a little ice-cream truck
not too far away, practically singing for her to come and get
something. She looked into her pockets for some money. She
had changed into civilian's clothes before she came down to
earth and put some loose change in her large pockets. She was
wearing a *really baggy* out fit that now seemed rather odd
for her to wear now, considering she had been frequently
wearing dark clothes in the Nega-verse and this outfit was
brighter than normal. Besides that, they didn't fit her at all,
but it was the best she could find and the only ones that she
liked. She guessed that they had been taken from some unlucky
people who had stumbled upon a Youma that had attacked Earth
and then got kidnapped and taken to the Nega-verse as new
denizens. It didn't really matter to her though. She frankly
didn't care. Of course, she didn't care about much these days.
She pulled out a doller and twenty-five cents in quarters.
She ran over to the ice-cream truck and saw a young women with
black hair and blue eyes sitting listlessly beside the van. She
was wearing a hat that said "Dubble Dubbly." She looked somewhat
pretty, but the hat made her look ridiculous
"What can I do for you miss?" The lady asked boredly.
Now Crystal looked at the display of food. She didn't know
what to pick. There were all sorts of different flavors of ice-
cream, Chocolate Fudge, her favorite, among them, and there were
popsicles and freezes.
"I'll have the Chocolate Fudge please." She said at last.
That was only thing that was a doller so she had enough for that
one.
"Thank you and have a nice day." The lady said without any
further glance at Crystal as she exchanged the ice-cream for the
money.
Crystal nodded and continued on her way.
At that moment a brown haired, green eyed, girl in a high
school uniform was coming up the street to get herself an ice-
cream cone, but when the small truck came into view she stopped
dead in her tracks. She could not believe her eyes.
She ran and hid behind a near by tree as to not let Serena,
see her.
And forgetting that she had a communicator with her that would
easily bring the scouts over, she ran quickly away making sure
to keep out of sight as she did, lest Serena attack her.
Serena, who at the moment, had no need to be Crystal anymore,
skipped happily through the park, completely oblivious to the
tall girl who'd once been her friend as she ran in the oposite
direction Crystal was going in. She was enjoying herself
immensely. This is what she missed about Earth. She missed the
park, the food, the people, the happiness to be alive. Sure she
was happy with the Nega-verse, or she tried to be. But she still
missed her home. Earth, Japan, home. The Nega-verse wasn't any
of those things and really the only thing that even remotely
reminded Crystal of her home was Kunzite's warm embrace and
sharp silver eyes. He was the only thing.
Shaking off her thoughts about the silver haired general
she decided that she should visit her family. With that thought in her head she
ran all the way towards her home, not noticing the dark figure
in the shadows, following her.
____________________
"You have got to be kidding me Lita! That was just someone
else who looks like her! It can't be her, she betrayed us to
the Nega-verse! Why would she come back down to Earth, and even
if she did, why would she be buying ice-cream?" Rei asked. She
was unerved like the rest of the scouts who where looking at
Lita like she was crazy. They where all in Lita's apartment,
having some of Lita's lovely baked muffins and discussing serena.
Amy was not present as she was still at the shrine. Serena
seemed to be the main topic whenever they got together. If one
person metioned her name they all started talking about her at
once. Sometimes discussing how they were going to trap her, and
sometimes talking about what she'd been like before she'd
betrayed them or wonderng why she'd betrayed them at all.
"But I saw her Rei!!! She seemed almost glued to the ice-
cream truck and she wasn't wearing a Nega sleeze uniform at
all!!!" Lita almost screamed at Rei. Usally Lita was the calm
one of the group but not now... not when things where so....
intense for them.
"That sounds like Serena alright." Luna put in. "She was
always after some ice-cream or sweets."
"Well, I think you're both nuts! She wouldn't be here!" Rei
and Mina said at once.
"Just the same, I think we should be on our guard. Ok? For
me?" Lita pleaded with the group knowing they didn't believe her
when she said she'd seen Serena, but knowing what she's saw. Rei
looked over at her and noted how sincere Lita looked.
"Alright, but it doesn't mean I agree with you, got that?"
Rei said, defeated.
"Alright, thank you Rei." Lita smiled at the scouts
gratefully and they all smiled back before turning to more
important matters. One of them being, what were they going to do
about Amy, a.k.a Sailor Mercury?
__________________
Serena had made it almost all the way to her old home, she
was just a block away, when she hit a snag in her plans. That
snag had black hair, blue eyes, a tall, well muscled body and
a frown on his face that Crystal hadn't seen too often.
"Hey Darien! Sorry, didn't mean to get in your way!" She
said in a rush, the words running together as they normally did
when she was in a hurry. She wanted nothing more than to just
run right past him without any exchange of words at all, but she
stayed, for the simple reason that during her time in the Nega-
verse, she had missed Darien, just as much as she'd missed
everyone else, though she'd never show it.
Darien at the moment was too shocked to do anything more than
stare. It was.... Serena. But... Serena was Sailor Moon, and
Sailor Moon had.. betrayed them to the Nega-verse, and yet she
was standing right in front of him, looking at him with a smile
on her face that was as innocent and friendly as it had always
been. She didn't look like a person who had just betrayed her
friends, or her home, or her world. She looked like a normal,
pretty, everyday, teenager and before Darien had found out
differently that is always what he had thought her to be.
Serena, seeing that Darien had little or nothing to say,
tried to side step and move around him, but he blocked her way
and she stared up at him, confused by his actions, and the
expression on his face. He looked... confused.. suspicious...
and angry, all at once.
A multitude of other emotions also played across his face,
all of which Serena couldn't figure out.
"What are you doing? Look Darien, I don't have a lot of time
right now so why don't you just-"
"What am *I* doing?!" He interrupted, incredulous, all
rationality and reason flying from his mind as all the anger,
confusion, shock, jealously and every other emotion he'd been
feeling over the past two or three days combined and created
one very mad, curious Darien.
Serena stepped back in surprise at his unexpected outburst
and listened to him rant on with growing astonishment as words
came pouring from his mouth.
"You asked me what *I'm* doing?! I'm the one who should be
asking you that question! I'm not the one who just betrayed
their friends, went of without a word of explanation to join
the Nega-verse, injured one of the sailor scouts and then came
back to Earth as though nothing had happened! There's no way
that I'm letting you-"
"You know." Serena whispered, interrupting him and quieting
him down. Serena stared at him for a moment in shock, her eyes
wide and most certainly not so carefree and friendly anymore.
She let her thoughts trail
off as everything suddenly clicked into place and the peices of
the puzzle that had been missing before now fit together
perfectly and Serena knew everything.
"You... you.. you're," She sputtered, stepping back, not
quite believeing the truth as it was revealed to her. "You're
Tuxedo Mask! All this time you've been Tuxedo Mask, and I never
noticed it until now! I should have realized it earlier! You two
are so much alike. I can't believe I didn't see it 'till now."
She seemed to be talking more to herself than to Darien and the
black haired man could only stare as her new perceptiveness and
intelligence that had surfaced since becoming a general allowed
her to see beyond what she normally saw and figure out who he
really was. His secret was out, but then again, so was hers.
Serena finally turned her attention back to Darien and
narrowed her eyes as the new knowledge of who he was created a
few little problems for her. Rather large ones actually.
"Listen, I don't want to hurt you right now, and I don't want
to hurt the scouts, but you tell them that if they get in my way
then there's gonna be problems. Heed my warning well, this is the
only one you're gonna get, now move!"
Now that she knew who he was all she wanted to do was go and
see her parents one last time before she went back to the Nega-
verse. Now that her cover was blown there was no way she could
stay here. She sighed. She had hoped to stay here for a day at
least, but she'd only been able to stay for a few hours, and she
knew this would probably be her last chance to ever visit the
Earth she knew. She was really going to miss it here.
Darien shook his head at her command and Serena's eyes
darkened as she took a menacing step towards him, dark power
glowing around her hand as she prepared an attack that would
knock him into the next century. Darien saw it coming and knew
instinctively that he wouldn't have enough time to transform
before she blasted him. He desperately tried to talk to her, to
ask her the things he wanted to know, the things he had been
wondering about ever since Sailor Moon had betrayed them, and
ever since he'd found out who Sailor Moon really was.
"Why are you doing this Serena? I thought you were happy
here. You may not have been the best student at your school, but
you had good friends. How could you betray them like this? How
could you just throw everything you had away? Don't you know what
you're doing to the scouts?! Don't you know what will happen if
you help the Nega-verse?! Don't you know what will happen to your
parents, or your friends, or your family, or everyone else!? Do
you even know what you're doing?! Do you even care?!"
Serena's hand, which had been glowing black now returned to
it's normal color and she stepped back again, hurt and anger in
her eyes, as well as pain. Yes, she did know what would happen
if she helped the Nega-verse take over Earth, and she did know
what would happen to her parents, her family, her friends, scouts
and otherwise, if she helped the Nega-verse, but despite the fact
that every single part of her being told her that this was wrong
something inside of her, something stronger was telling her that
they deserved it an that it didn't matter. She didn't stop to
think about what could be stronger than her love for her friends
and family.
"Did you honestly think I was happy here on Earth!" She
shouted at him, surprising him with her words. "It wasn't my
grades that drove me to join the Nega-verse, it was everything.
Lets face it Darien, I was a cluts, a crybaby, and a sentimental
fool. I'm not brave or strong like everyone else. I'm not fearless
or smart like a warrior should be. As a sailor scout I was never
any of those things. I was the complete opposite of things like
that, but as a general I'm different, and I'm happy with my new
life! I know exactly what I'm doing Darien. I'm showing everyone
that I'm not a wimp or just some stupid, annoying girl. I'm
showing them that I can be strong when I want to be and that I'm
not afraid of them. I'm not dumb like they think I am you know!
Don't you get it Darien? I *chose* to be a general because I
*didn't* like my life the way it was!"
Now it was Darien turn to step back and he took a few moments
to collect his thoughts which Serena's little speech had scattered
about him like confete.
"But Serena if you can be like that as a general then you can
be like that as a scout. And if you really didn't like the way
things were in your life, you could always change them! And if you
didn't think you were ready to be a sailor scout then why didn't
you just take some time to train and-" Serena interrupted him
again.
"No, no, no! You just don't understand Darien! I never *wanted*
to be a sailor scout in the first place! Do you honestly believe
that I actually had a choice in the matter at all?! I don't have
any *time* to train except at scouts meetings and then the scouts
all consideed me to be a wimp and a coward, and you know what, a
few weeks ago they would have been right!" Darien frowned as she
used the term weeks when to him, it had only been days.
He began to speak again. "But Serena, you just said youself
that a little while ago they would have been right. If you didn't
want them to feel that way then why didn't you just show them you
weren't? You could have just taken some time to train on your own
and-"
"You're not listening to me at all, are you? I didn't have the
*time* to train on my own! The scouts were always bugging me to
get better and to improve, but how could I do that when they
didn't believe that I really could? If I'd had my choice I wouldn't
be a sailor scout at all and I would never have met any of them!
And don't look so shocked Darien. Did you really think I chose to
be this way?! Do you have any idea how many things I've lost since
becoming a sailor scout. And I don't mean things or possessions, I
mean friends and important people to me."
"Molly Baker used to be my very best friend, but ever since I
became a scout she and I are barely friends at all. I had
thousands of friends of school, almost everyone I knew thought of
me as one, but ever since I became a sailor scout it's taken up
almost all of my time and I've lost almost all of them. Andrew,
Molly, Melvin, and you are the only ones I could even consider
friends anymore, and me and Molly have been growing farther and
farther apart ever since I met Luna! So do you get it now? Do you
see? You have no idea how lonely my life's become since I became
Sailor Moon, or how dangerous. I risked death everyday because I
was a sailor scout and anyday if I'd have died my parents would
never have known what had really happened to me, because they could
never know who I really was. So now do you understand Darien? I was
*never* who you thought I was because I couldn't let anyone see how
much it hurt me inside!"
Darien couldn't believe his ears, or his eyes. This was a side of
Serena that Darien had never seen before and now that he had seen
it he was beginning to understand Serena's motivations for turning
traitor on them, although he was still trying to work through the
more important parts of Serena's speech.
He softened his voice as he spoke again. "But Serena, there was
no need to go off and join the Nega-verse because of all that. You
didn't need to-" Serena groaned and then snarled out. "Are you deaf?!
Didn't you hear a word I said! Arrgg!! Forget it alright! Just go
away and leave me alone! And stop calling my Serena, my name is
Crystal now." She tried to push past him but he blocked her way again.
"Just let me finish. I-"
"No." She growled out and puctuated the word by pointing a finger
in his face. "Just leave it alone Darien! Alright?! I don't want or
need to hear anything you have to say. Why can't you just leave me
alone?!"
"Because, I think you're lying! I don't think you joined the Nega-
verse because of everything you said. I think there's something more."
"You know what, for once in your life, you're right. I didn't just
join the Nega-verse because of all that, I joined it because I wanted
to, and I joined it because that was the only way I'd ever be able to
see Kunzite!" She stopped, confused by her own words. Where had that
come from? When did Kunzite become part of this conversation? If you
could call it that.
Darien's face went red with anger and jealously. "So that's it huh?
You joined the Nega-verse to be with him, didn't you? Didn't you?!"
Serena was finally fed up and she spat her next words at Darien like a
phyisical blow. "Yes! I joined the Nega-verse because *I* *like*
*Kunzite* and he's the only one in the world that I could ever hope to
care for!" Now neither one of them could believe their ears. Darien
had been hoping for a denial, something to tell him that she didn't
like Kunzite, and that she might even care for..... no, best not to
think about that.... not now.
Serena was in shock, her mind in a turmoil of confusion. Did she
just say she liked Kunzite? But.... but.... but, that was impossible.
She couldn't like Kunzite, she couldn't..... but then why had she
said what she had? And what had she meant when she'd said she could
never hope to care for anyone else? That part she was sure she hadn't
meant, but as for her first words..... This was all just so confusing.
Without another word or even a parting glance Serena disappeared
making sure to mask the emotions running across her face, and Darien
stared after her, hurt, pain, regret, and something untold in his
stormy blue eyes.
And the only person that had been witness to Serena and Darien's
arguement, the figure that had been following Serena from the park,
stepped away from the shadows and the mans silver hair blew lightly
in the wind as his shocked silver eyes stared at where Serena had
been for a moment, disbelieveing what his ears had heard, before he
too disappeared, his heavy cape flowing behind him as he turned and
walked into a dark portal back to the Nega-verse.
*Now* things had really become complicated.
____________________
The moment Serena reappeared inside the Nega-verse, inside her
room, just next to the mirror placed on the wall, something like a
dam broke inside her and the tears that had been building ever since
her arguement with Darien had started overflowed and washed over her
cheeks like tidal waves. And now she was Crystal again, and she
realized that Serena, pretty, funny, carefree Serena was dead now.
There was only her. Only Crystal. And Serena could never be again,
anymore than Sailor Moon ever could, not while the Nega-verse still
existed.
"Why?" She whispered. "Why does it have to be this way? I don't
want to hurt them..... but I can't go back. It's too late now. I...
*can't*.. go back." She stumbled over to the wall and leaned into it,
using it to support her weight as more tears swelled in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry." She whispered to nothing, and oh how it hurt her to
know that she could never say that to the scouts in person.
But soon the complete misery and hopelessness she'd felt subsided
and another emotion swept through her to take it's place. Anger, and
a passionate fury.
"Dammit, Darien, why couldn't you have just left things alone?!
Why did you have to interfere! Everything would have been fine if
only you hadn't got in my way! And why did you have to tell me you
were Tuxedo Mask?! This only makes things harder for me! Oh.... Damn
it all!!" To punctuate these last words Crystal picked up the nearby
chair and hurled it across the room. It hit the wall and the two
right legs of the chair broke and splintered as the full force of her
strength when angered came into focus. Crystal didn't seem to notice
the chair. She was too blinded by anger, sadness, and pain. All she
could think about was Darien. Darien who she now knew was Tuxedo Mask,
the man that she had... *loved* before. But how could she love someone
who she had always hated? Things were getting far too complicated and
Crystal was on the verge of snapping.
With flashing eyes the next peice of furniture Crystal picked up
was something off the top of the dresser the chair had been beside.
She didn't know what it was, but it felt like some sort of vase and
without even a second thought she chucked whatever it was in her hand
right into the wall on the other side of the room, exactly oposite of
where the chair had hit. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't any vase.
It hit the wall with a hard thud, but didn't even dent. Crystal didn't
care.
There wasn't a lot left for her to throw around the room but Crystal
could be creative when she wanted to be and so she turned around and
lifted the *table* which had been stuck in the corner, right over her
head, preparing to throw it into the bed.
But just before she would have released the table, rationality
returned to her and Crystal stumbled as she had already taken a step
forward to throw the table. She straightened up quickly though and
slowly drew a breath of air to calm her racing heart and jumping
nerves.
Slowly easing her mind out of the well of anger and misery it had
been thrown into Crystal set down the table and drew in another breath
of air, but her body was shaking, adreneline still racing through her
body and the breath was shaky. She turned back around and slowly fell
back until her back hit the wall softly. She rolled onto her shoulder
and pushed herself away from the hard surface minutes later when she
was almost sure she was herself again.
Shakily bringing her hands up to her golden locks, Crystal pulled a
hand through her now tangled blond hair, she did this often. Stepping
in front of the mirror, Crystal reached for the hair brush with had
been on the dresser but stopped as she caught sight of her reflection
in the mirror.
For the second time since coming to the Nega-verse Crystal got a
really good look at herself. The minute she had appeard in the Nega-
verse her generals uniform had reappeared on her, as she had known it
would. Her hair was in a tangled mess, the slightly curly blond tresses
falling over her shoulders in waves. She was very thin now. She'd been
thin before but now she was like a rack, although the ice-cream seemed
to have done her some good. No one ate very much while in the Nega-
verse.
Her face was pale, as was everyone elses who resided in the Nega-
verse, because there was no sun, only dark. Her lips were tight from
the anger she'd nearly lost herself to moments before, but what really
made Crystal stop and look was her eyes. They had always been a light
blue in color, somtimes darker when she got mad or was really sad, but
now they weren't just blue at all, they were tinged with another color,
and, leaning closer, Crystal saw that that color was red.
For many moments Crystal stood absolutely still, just staring
mutely at her eyes as they stared back at her, as if to mock her, from
the mirror. Then suddenly, without warning Crystal gave a loud cry and
pulled back her hand, her fist flying forward before she even thought
about it. It hit the reflective surface with the heel of her hand and
for a moment nothing seemed to happen, but then, Crystal's reflection,
staring back at her, began to crack and from where Crystal's fist had
hit the glass shattered and bits and peices fell to the floor, but
most of the mirror just cracked, like great chasms spreading across the
whole surface. Crystal pulled back her hand and from where it had hit
blood trailed down the broken glass, dripping onto the floor.
She slowly turned away from the broken, bloody mirror and fell
heavily onto her bed, silent tears rolling down her face. She barely
noticed the pain in her hand as the red blood soaked through her
glove.
There were now a few simple facts that she had to accept about
herself and about the scouts. One, that they would never accept her
back now, not that she wanted to go back, but if she ever did, now
she couldn't, and she really, really wished she was able to change
the conversation she'd had with Darien. The scouts wouldn't have
accepted her back, but she may have had a chance with Tuxedo Mask.
But now he must really hate her after what she'd said and done,
heart, body and soul.
She sniffled and rubbed a small hand over her eyes. She tried
mightily to stop the tears coming down her face and just barely
managed. She sat up on her bed and touched where she had just laid
down. The covers where damp, and now blood from her injured hand was
beginning to soak the other side of the covers red.
She didn't notice.
She brought her hand away from the wet spot and looked for the
hair brush she'd been reaching for on the dresser. Seeing it there
she extended her hand in its direction and it appeared in her open
palm. Another of the magical tricks she'd learned. She slowly began
to brush out her knotted hair and stood. She could no longer be
Serena, the crybaby. She had to be Crystal, strong, evil Crystal,
the girl who she was now and would forever be until death. Which,
she hoped, would happen quickly.
___________________
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Nega-verse, Kunzite was so
astonished by what Crystal had told Darien that he couldn't stand up
straight and he had to sit down in his own quarters.
He poured out a cold glass of dark wine and sat down to think and
look at himself in the mirror. But it was not vanity that held him
staring at himself, or anything of the sort, but rather it was wonder.
Kunzite sighed and took a
swig of the wine which he thought really helped him get passed some of
his emotions, whatever they were. He'd never felt so out of touch with
reality in his life.
He thought, getting up from his chair, putting his cup on the
table and leaving the room with one destination in mind. One golden
haired beauty.
____________________
"Queen Beryl, something's up, I have not seen Kunzite or Crystal
since yesterday and that........" Zoisite, being the meddlesome
creature that he was, was telling Beryl what was going on between
Kunzite and Crystal but what he did not tell her was who Crystal
was. That he was saving for another time when they really got on
his nerves. He knew if they kept up things the way they were going
that wouldn't be too long from now.
"Yes, Zoisite I have felt both there emotions strongly. They are
both struggling to deny what they feel for each other but that is
nothing to worry about Zoisite. Do you have any other news that
might be more interesting?"
"Yes, my Queen. I think that Crystal is ready to try another
round with the scouts. She is getting stronger everyday with our
help." Zoisite thought to
himself evily.
"Alright, but I want you and Kunzite to go with her and see that
she remains unharmed. Crystal is very powerful and she could be a
great help to the Nega-verse." Seeing that Zoisite looked about to
protest she narrowed her eyes at him dangerously and said, "That is
an order Zoisite. Now, I will call them here."
___________________
Crystal was still lying on her bed, lost in misery, sorrowful
thoughts, and pain when Kunzite walked in the door, looking as though
he barely knew where he was going.
Crystal leapt to her feet as she heard the door open without a
knock and instictively she raised her hands, prepared to defend
herself, but when she saw it was Kunzite she relaxed slightly, hiding
her still bleeding hand behind her back.
But it was too late, Kunzite had seen the blood on her hand, seen
how her pale skin had seemed to have been shredded by glass even
through the glove and with one look at the mirror and the surrounding
room he understood.
"Ser- uh, Crystal, let me see your hand." He commanded,
immediately sobbering up for some reason, but as he took a step
forward she took an immediate step back. "Now." He commanded, but she
shook her head and moved another step back. "Look," He said, trying
to reason with her. "I already know you're hurt, so why are you
trying to hide it?" But reason wasn't working with Crystal either. She
shook her head again and stayed at the same distance from him all the
time.
Fed up with trying to act civil about this when all he wanted to
do was help her, Kunzite was just getting ready to lunge for Crystal
when they both of them felt a teleport, and before either of them
could react, they disappeared.
___________________
The next thing that Zoisite knew, just after the queen had said
she'd summon the two people they'd been talking about, both Crystal
and Kunzite were standing right beside him looking rather disheveled.
Crystal looked like she had been crying and she was hiding her hand
behind her back, while Kunzite looked like he had been drinking. Zoisite thought, looking over to Kunzite in an
amused fasion which Kunzite promptly ignored.
"Queen Beryl, its an honour." Crystal said without an apparent
sarcasm or lack of good spirit that Zoisite saw, evidently. Kunzite
and Crystal both bowed there heads low in respect.
"I want you and Crystal to prepare an attack on the sailor scouts."
Queen Beryl said to them after they raised their heads. Crystal and
Kunzite both looked at each other.
Crystal thought sadly. Then looked up to see a smiling
Zoisite looking over at her. She shot him a dangerous look but he ignored it and
as his eyes fell on her injured hand the green orbs registered glee.
Crystal felt like strangling him.
Kunzite looked at Crystal with understanding that she did not see.
Kunzite knew that this was going to be the toughest battle between her
and the scouts. He knew it and his heart wanted, no, *needed* to protect
her. It was good that the queen had said that he was to go with her.
"Wouldn't it be better your highness if just Zoisite and I go and
fight the sailor scouts? Crystal needs more time to practice I believe."
Kunzite asked and held his breath.
"No, Kunzite, are you questioning my orders?" Queen Beryl said,
starting to sound angry.
"No, no... I'm sorry it won't happen again." Kunzite said
apologetically. Crystal looked at Kunzite with a small smile of
thankfulness and Kunzite smiled back.
"Then go on... we don't have a lot of time." Queen Beryl dismissed
them very easily.
"Yes my Queen." With that they all bowed their heads and disappeared,
ready to fight the scouts. Well, two of them were ready, but the other
one of them was busy preparing for the greatest emotion battle of her
time.
And she didn't know if she could win this one.
TO BE CONTINUED....